Carolyn Hax: Stepson gives grandparents pause

Article by: CAROLYN HAX

September 3, 2013 - 1:58 PM

Dear Carolyn: Over the years, I’ve read numerous complaints about grandparents who showed favoritism to some grandkids based on gender, adoption or step situations. Each time, I’ve been outraged that adults could be so unfair to innocent children.

But I’m finding the situation isn’t so easily resolved when you’re in the middle of it. My husband and I became grandparents a year ago. We were beyond thrilled! We don’t have a lot of money, but we cut some corners to buy cute gifts on the appropriate occasions.

Now ... my stepson has started dating a woman with two young children. The 26-year-old, college-dropout stepson has made having a family his No. 1 goal in life (maybe to make up for his parents’ divorce?). He actually searched dating sites for women with children.

He’s now moving in with this woman, who only a month ago agreed to be publicly identified as his girlfriend. (This is only his second relationship. The first one lasted just months.)

Anyway ... with the holidays coming up, I don’t know what to do. Do we spend an equal amount on these other two kids? I don’t want to be a jerk to these two little girls, but I also don’t want to keep diverting money from our granddaughter to a string of kids we might not see again.

Carolyn says: Being a good grandma is about the kids, not you. Your first paragraph says you already know this.

That means any gifts you give to family members are investments in them as people, vs. investments in your relationship with them. It’s “I want the best for you” vs. “I want the best out of you” — a fine distinction, but an important one.

When you look at these two little girls that way, then you’ll see that their tenuous status in your family has no bearing on the way you divvy up the gifts. These are children innocent of their parents’ ... whatevers, which I’ll get to in a second. What they need — possibly even more than your granddaughter does — is an environment where they’re valued just for being, without contingencies such as “gender, adoption or step situations.” So they get a third of your gift allotment, a third of your hugs, a third of your attention, and all of your heart.

Should the parents’ relationship crash and the girls abruptly exit your lives, then you will remain the nice lady who gave them the gift of acceptance without regard for their relative value to her. Too young to grasp that is not too young to feel its light.

I could even argue that my “fine distinction” is a trick one, too; in embracing these girls as family for as long (or as briefly) as they are, it’s hard to see how you wouldn’t also be getting the best out of your relationship with them. And out of yourself.

To that end: It’s clear this couple’s choices are messy and invite failure, but just as clear is your contempt for the people making them. Please take a step back, see your stepson and his girlfriend as people trying to make something whole out of something broken, and bring all the compassion you’ve got.

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